Participating in IFA 2022, Miele unveils smart home technologies that help reduce carbon emissions and cut electricity bills
German premium home appliance brand Miele took part in IFA 2022, Europe's largest home appliance exhibition, held over four days from September 2 to 6 in Berlin, Germany, under the theme of environmental and climate protection, where it unveiled new products and technologies focused on sustainability. At IFA 2022 — held in person for the first time in three years since 2019 due to COVID-19 — Miele introduced innovative new smart home features for a lifestyle that contributes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and cutting electricity bills.
Miele has significantly expanded not only the connectivity between Miele devices but also the interoperability with third-party smart home systems such as Amazon, Google, Magenta, and Smappee via Miele Cloud technology, strengthening consumers' ability to proactively choose eco-friendly options. Alongside this, Miele showcased kitchen appliances featuring new technologies, including the two-in-one induction products 'KMDA 7272 Silence' and 'KMDA 7473 Silence,' which incorporate a newly conceived integrated hood, as well as the 'K 4000' freestanding refrigerator that boasts the highest energy efficiency grade.
At a press conference held ahead of the official opening of IFA 2022, Co-Chairman Markus Miele emphasized sustainability at every stage, stating, "Saving the planet we live on is a race against time." In particular, through IFA 2022, Miele presented its own vision of sustainability by showcasing innovations of a different dimension to protect the environment and support responsible consumer behavior.
Peter Hübinger, Senior Vice President of Miele's Smart Home business unit, said, "In the past, energy-saving programs were used only to a limited extent, but consumers have recently been paying great attention to energy efficiency, and we expect this to bring changes in usage patterns," adding, "Miele plans to guide consumers toward choosing more eco-friendly options through a variety of sustainability-related smart home features."
Miele's 'Timeless Premium' Creating a Sustainable Future
At IFA 2022, Miele once again emphasized environmental protection and sustainability as core brand values under the theme 'For a Better Tomorrow, Discovering Timeless Premium.' Furthermore, it reinforced its commitment to practicing sustainability by announcing three key pledges spanning from product manufacturing to use: △realizing sustainability at every stage, △manufacturing appliances that do not impact the environment, and △reducing waste through product recycling.
Miele consistently applied the theme of sustainability to its exhibition booth as well. To visually convey Miele's ongoing research, efforts, and strategies for expanding environmental and climate protection across all areas of service and logistics, an interactive 'Sustainability Alley' exhibit was installed at the center of the booth. The booth sections were designed so that the carpet and paper used could be 100% recycled and reused in the future, and Miele also demonstrated its efforts to reduce waste by minimizing single-use items within the booth.
Less Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Lower Electricity Bills Through Sustainable Smart Home Technology
Miele, which continuously strives to practice sustainability even at the usage stage, has added a 'Consumption Dashboard' feature within the 'Miele@Home' app so that users can see their appliances' energy consumption with their own eyes and monitor energy use more consciously. As a result, consumers who use Miele can greatly contribute to eco-friendly appliance use while significantly cutting maintenance costs by frequently using efficient programs.
The majority of Miele's products boast the highest energy efficiency grades, making them some of the lowest energy-consuming products in the home appliance industry. According to global research firm GfK, Miele held a 73.7% share of the energy-efficiency A-grade dishwasher market in the first half of 2022.
The Consumption Dashboard feature provides information on the water and electricity actually consumed by specific programs through in-depth data analysis, and displays the number of times a program has been used and the total number of appliance runs on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. Through in-depth data analysis, users can easily compare the average energy consumption of the programs they have used, and the feature also recommends suggested programs so appliances can be used more energy-efficiently. By providing transparent information, it can serve as an indicator that makes users aware of energy-saving goals and encourages them to choose more eco-friendly program options — a characteristic that helps drive user engagement.
Going a step further, Miele has expanded integration via Miele Cloud technology not only with AI speakers such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant but also with third-party smart home control systems such as Germany's Magenta SmartHome and Belgium's Smappee energy management system, enabling consumers to choose eco-friendly options more proactively. Through the Smappee system, consumers can check the energy consumption of all Miele devices used not only individually but across the entire home, and receive help to use them in the most efficient way. For example, if a consumer simply sets the laundry to finish before 6 p.m. as they leave for work in the morning, the system automatically selects the time slot when solar energy has been sufficiently stored and energy use is lowest to complete the wash.
Miele's New 'Miele@Home' Technologies Bringing Joy and Innovation to the Kitchen Through Artificial Intelligence
Taking into account users' creative lifestyles and cooking processes, Miele also introduced various innovative new features based on artificial intelligence within the 'Miele@Home' app. 'Smart Food ID,' in which a camera controls the oven cooking process, is an innovative feature that automatically detects food images and suggests suitable cooking programs for the food.
In particular, based on a self-learning program, this feature learns from the images and settings selected by the user and, the more it is used, provides customized services that take the user's choices into account. To date, it can recognize about 25 types of food using artificial intelligence — including distinguishing between freshly baked pizza and frozen pizza — and it checks whether the food turns a golden, appetizing brown and determines whether cooking is complete, allowing dishes to be finished more conveniently.
'CookAssist' uses complex algorithms to make calculations and transmits that data to a smartphone to precisely control the entire induction cooking process, helping users complete the finest dishes. A voice guidance service in which Amazon's AI Alexa explains the cooking preparation steps is also scheduled to be released at a later date.
The 'Picture Share' feature, available in the existing Miele@Home app, also stands out. It is a feature that makes it easy to share food images captured with the Miele oven camera, allowing high-resolution images to be sent to various platforms such as email, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Teams with a single click. It also allows images to be converted to JPEG format and shared in the form of an invitation.
▲ IFA 2022 Miele Global Press Conference
▲ Miele Experience Center Hannam
▲ Dishwasher G7114
▲ Dishwasher G5214vC
▲ MasterCool
▲ Vacuum Cleaner Boost CX1
▲ Coffee Machine CM 6160
▲ Robot Vacuum Scout RX3
▲ Pet Vacuum Triflex HX1 Cat & Dog